It's school holiday season so time to find out what the youth are up to! This week's Song Crush features teen music fans Benny Lindsay Williams (15) and Oscar Horner (14), as well as the hardly youth adjacent Mark Cubey and Yadana Saw.
L-R Mark Cubey, Oscar Horner, Yadana Saw, Benny Lindsay Williams Photo: Yadana Saw
Post Malone - Sunflower ft. Swae Lee
Dubbed "the Donald Trump of hip-hop”, the New York-born, Texas-raised, gun-fancying, Bob Dylan-loving, multiply tattooed 24-year-old Austin Richard Malone is now firmly positioned as one of the world’s biggest pop stars. His recently released third album Hollywood's Bleeding has seven of the 17 tracks still in the Spotify Top 30.
Malone has a unique voice of melodic melancholy, and a rap-lite softness that has him accepted by ears still shut to harder, blacker sounds.
'Sunflower' has Post Malone sharing vocals with Swae Lee from Rae Sremmurd (their viral hit 'Black Beatle' was made famous through the mannequin challenge phenomenon of 2016). It was deployed strategically as a key inspirational tune for protagonist Miles Morales in one of last year’s best movies, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and its mellow flow, undeniable hooks and wistful yet cynical sadness about a relationship headed for barren ground, makes it a playlist keeper. MC
Tame Impala - Borderline
I stumbled onto this song on my Spotify recommendations, which I use all the time. It's so much easier to discover music, that's how I found Tame Impala. Their music is sort of psychedelic rock/pop which I'm starting to get into as I've shifted from listening to pop. Since coming across 'Borderline' I've found five more songs Tame Impala that I really love. OH
Danika Smith - Suit of Armour
Danika Smith's soul tinged folk music is a regular feature of the Melbourne live scene. She came to prominence as a finalist in Triple J's Unearthed competition.
The lazy, hazy tempo of the song with Smith's dry-as-a-biscuit vocals creates a seductive and mellow coziness. It has even caught the ears of BBC6 tastemaker Gilles Peterson.
'Suit of Armour' is the first single from a slow burning, in progress debut album I can't wait to hear. YS
MasterFader - Tone Science
I am a big fan of Lucien Johnson who is MasterFader, he is an amazing, amazing saxophone player. He's a local from Wellington and has a PhD in Ethio jazz and you can definitely hear a lot of those key centres in his music. It's got those eclectic dance elements to it and a lot of African rhythm influences in it. I play this song everywhere and anywhere. I can play this at home, on the dancefloor, it works in all environments. The album is mixed and mastered by Riki Gooch and Fat Freddy's DJ Mu. BLW.
Dexter Story - Gold ft Sudan Archives
Occasionally a new song will be come an obsession that I force on everyone else. 'Gold' is one of those tracks that I have to play over and over again to everyone in my orbit.
From the opening driving afro rhythms, Gold takes an unexpected turn when the vocals and strings of Sudan Archives kick in.
On the album 'Bahir' you will hear familiar afrobeat rhythms that reference Sudanese forms, Ethio jazz as well as the meditative grooves of the Tuareg region with elements of Dexter Story's own classical Western training. YS
Listen to all our Song Crushes Sept - Oct here
Music details
Artist: Post Malone
Song: Sunflower ft. Swae Lee
Composer: Austin Post, Khalif Brown, Scott Lang, Billy Walsh, Louis Bell
Album: Hollywood's Bleeding
Label: Republic
Artist: Tame Impala
Song: Borderline
Composer: Parker
Album: Single
Label: Modular
Artist: Danika Smith
Song: Suit of Armour
Composer: Smith
Album: Single
Label: Private
Artist: MasterFader
Song: Tone Science
Composer: Lucien Johnson
Album: Tone Science
Label: Borderline Arts Ensemble
Artist: Dexter Story
Song: Gold Ft. Sudan Archives
Composer: Dexter Story and Sudan Archives
Album: Bahir
Label: Soundway
